Status
Available
Genres
Publication
Toronto : HarperCollins Canada, 2013.
Description
Fiction. Literature. HTML: Maya's Notebook is a startling novel of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende. This contemporary coming-of-age story centers upon Maya Vidal, a remarkable teenager abandoned by her parents. Maya grew up in a rambling old house in Berkeley with her grandmother Nini, whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973 with a young son, and her grandfather Popo, a gentle African-American astronomer. When Popo dies, Maya goes off the rails. Along with a circle of girlfriends known as "the vampires," she turns to drugs, alcohol, and petty crime�??a downward spiral that eventually leads to Las Vegas and a dangerous underworld, with Maya caught between warring forces: a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol. Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a remote island off the coast of Chile. In the care of her grandmother's old friend, Manuel Arias, and surrounded by strange new acquaintances, Maya begins to record her story in her notebook, as she tries to make sense of her past and unravel the mysteries of her family and her own life.… (more)
Media reviews
The prioritising of story over voice suggests that it's not the aim of Maya's Notebook to plunge the reader into the grim existence of a real-life Maya; this is a tale of revelations and resolutions, and the plot is more answerable to its own turns than to the brutal possibilities of reality.
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Despite the observations about the number of young people lost to street violence, crime and slavery, or because of them, the driving force of this novel is ultimately resilience – the power of love and acceptance to face down terrible things. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member gbill
Maya Vidal is a 19 year old woman who grew up with her grandparents in Berkeley, but now finds herself in a remote part of Chile, where her grandmother was from. She seems normal enough initially, having survived being abandoned by her parents and growing up in a diverse and hippie atmosphere, but
Her descent from there is shocking and steep. Maya sinks into seemingly every possible depravity with severe drug and alcohol abuse, puts herself into danger in many ways and suffers horrifying consequences, and ultimately ends up on the streets in Las Vegas, strung out and wanted by very dangerous people. At each step along the way, just when you think she’s hit rock bottom, she sinks still lower. It’s not a book for the faint of heart, and is tough to read at times.
The book describes some of the culture of Chile and its recent history, which politically swung from one extreme to another when Salvador Allende, a Marxist fairly elected in 1970 and who then began appropriating private property , was overthrown in a bloody coup in 1974. The dictator Augusto Pinochet then took power for 16 years, suppressing and persecuting dissidents. This is the backdrop, the history that the elders share and which had them losing loved ones and dispersing, with Maya’s grandmother fleeing to Toronto, and then later settling in Berkeley. Her gruff old friend who Maya stays with, Manuel Arias, has a mysterious past which is also gradually revealed over the course of the book.
The writing is reasonably good and the story held my interest, but it was too dark for my taste, even with the lightness and naturalness of Maya’s time in Chile that is interspersed throughout the narrative. I was also not a huge fan of the ending, which seemed a bit contrived and tidy.
Quotes:
On Berkeley:
“My Nini felt right in her element in Berkeley, that gritty, radical, extravagant city, with its mix of races and human pelts, with more geniuses and Nobel Prize winners than any other city on earth, saturated with noble causes, intolerant in its sanctimoniousness.”
On Chile, and religion:
“The priest, however, always comes to say mass every Sunday, to keep the Pentecostals and evangelicals from getting the upper hand. According to Manuel, that wouldn’t be easy, because the Catholic Church is more influential in Chile than it is in the Vatican. He told me that this was the last country in the world to legally approve the right to divorce and the law they’ve got is very complicated. It’s actually easier to murder your husband or wife than divorce them, so no one wants to get married and most children are born out of wedlock. They don’t even talk about abortion, which is a rude word, though it’s widely practiced. Chileans venerate the Pope, but they don’t heed him sexual matters and their consequences, because he’s a well-off, elderly celibate, who hasn’t worked a day in his life, and doesn’t really know much about it.”
On life, and happy endings:
“My Nini has always been annoyed by the contrived need for a happy ending to stories for children; she believes that in life there are no endings, just thresholds, people wandering here and there, stumbling and getting lost.”
On pain:
“In the three years that have passed since the death of my grandfather, I’ve very rarely talked about him. This cased me quite a few problems with the psychologists in Oregon, who tried to force me to ‘resolve my grief’ or some similar trite platitude. There are people like that, people who think all grief is the same and that there are formulas and stages to overcoming it. My Nini’s stoic philosophy is more suitable: ‘Since we’re going to suffer, let’s clench our teeth,’ she said. Pain, like that, pain of the soul, does not go away with remedies, therapy, or vacations; you simply endure it deep down, fully, as you should.”
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being loved. However as her ‘notebook’ gradually reveals, Maya’s world began to fall apart at age 15 with the death of her grandfather, a kindly, gentle man who was her father figure. Her descent from there is shocking and steep. Maya sinks into seemingly every possible depravity with severe drug and alcohol abuse, puts herself into danger in many ways and suffers horrifying consequences, and ultimately ends up on the streets in Las Vegas, strung out and wanted by very dangerous people. At each step along the way, just when you think she’s hit rock bottom, she sinks still lower. It’s not a book for the faint of heart, and is tough to read at times.
The book describes some of the culture of Chile and its recent history, which politically swung from one extreme to another when Salvador Allende, a Marxist fairly elected in 1970 and who then began appropriating private property , was overthrown in a bloody coup in 1974. The dictator Augusto Pinochet then took power for 16 years, suppressing and persecuting dissidents. This is the backdrop, the history that the elders share and which had them losing loved ones and dispersing, with Maya’s grandmother fleeing to Toronto, and then later settling in Berkeley. Her gruff old friend who Maya stays with, Manuel Arias, has a mysterious past which is also gradually revealed over the course of the book.
The writing is reasonably good and the story held my interest, but it was too dark for my taste, even with the lightness and naturalness of Maya’s time in Chile that is interspersed throughout the narrative. I was also not a huge fan of the ending, which seemed a bit contrived and tidy.
Quotes:
On Berkeley:
“My Nini felt right in her element in Berkeley, that gritty, radical, extravagant city, with its mix of races and human pelts, with more geniuses and Nobel Prize winners than any other city on earth, saturated with noble causes, intolerant in its sanctimoniousness.”
On Chile, and religion:
“The priest, however, always comes to say mass every Sunday, to keep the Pentecostals and evangelicals from getting the upper hand. According to Manuel, that wouldn’t be easy, because the Catholic Church is more influential in Chile than it is in the Vatican. He told me that this was the last country in the world to legally approve the right to divorce and the law they’ve got is very complicated. It’s actually easier to murder your husband or wife than divorce them, so no one wants to get married and most children are born out of wedlock. They don’t even talk about abortion, which is a rude word, though it’s widely practiced. Chileans venerate the Pope, but they don’t heed him sexual matters and their consequences, because he’s a well-off, elderly celibate, who hasn’t worked a day in his life, and doesn’t really know much about it.”
On life, and happy endings:
“My Nini has always been annoyed by the contrived need for a happy ending to stories for children; she believes that in life there are no endings, just thresholds, people wandering here and there, stumbling and getting lost.”
On pain:
“In the three years that have passed since the death of my grandfather, I’ve very rarely talked about him. This cased me quite a few problems with the psychologists in Oregon, who tried to force me to ‘resolve my grief’ or some similar trite platitude. There are people like that, people who think all grief is the same and that there are formulas and stages to overcoming it. My Nini’s stoic philosophy is more suitable: ‘Since we’re going to suffer, let’s clench our teeth,’ she said. Pain, like that, pain of the soul, does not go away with remedies, therapy, or vacations; you simply endure it deep down, fully, as you should.”
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LibraryThing member CaroPi
Is a very nice book. Pretty well right with a good story. Really enjoy reading it.
LibraryThing member nfmgirl2
A young woman finds herself hidden away on a remote island in Chile, on the run from...I'm not sure she even knew just who she was running from. After months as a runaway, living on the streets of Vegas, immersed in a life of drugs and prostitution, she is now sober and hiding out on this island,
Maya is a feisty girl and a bit of a rebel, but good at heart. She's just damaged by her past. She loved her grandfather more than anyone, and when she lost him, she lost her bearings and began a downward spiral.
We find Maya living on an island in Chiloe, and her story flips back and forth between past and present, helping to break up the suspense, which builds and builds in her backstory.
The island is a superstitious area, and while a bit "backward" at times, Chiloe grows on Maya.
This was my first introduction to the author Isabel Allende, although she has been on my Wish List for quite awhile now, and I found she has a very easy-to-read writing style, but can be appropriately lyrical at moments.
My final word: This suspenseful story is told in a muted tone. Maya is at times an abrasive and spunky protagonist, coming to terms with her adulthood and the need to let go of the past in order to move forward in life. At times gritty and hard-hitting, other times sentimental and moving, the story is always intriguing and pulls you along to the very end. My only real complaint is that a couple of areas just sort of petered out. There were characters introduced who just disappeared, and I had a hard time understanding the part they played in the story, or I actually really grew to like them and wanted to know what happened to them, only to find they quietly disappeared into the night. And the ending fell just a bit flat for me. But it's okay. I was ultimately satisfied with the story.
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surrounded with odd individuals and misfits who become her family, as she reminisces and slowly leads us through the story of her past, revealing herself to us.Maya is a feisty girl and a bit of a rebel, but good at heart. She's just damaged by her past. She loved her grandfather more than anyone, and when she lost him, she lost her bearings and began a downward spiral.
We find Maya living on an island in Chiloe, and her story flips back and forth between past and present, helping to break up the suspense, which builds and builds in her backstory.
The island is a superstitious area, and while a bit "backward" at times, Chiloe grows on Maya.
This was my first introduction to the author Isabel Allende, although she has been on my Wish List for quite awhile now, and I found she has a very easy-to-read writing style, but can be appropriately lyrical at moments.
My final word: This suspenseful story is told in a muted tone. Maya is at times an abrasive and spunky protagonist, coming to terms with her adulthood and the need to let go of the past in order to move forward in life. At times gritty and hard-hitting, other times sentimental and moving, the story is always intriguing and pulls you along to the very end. My only real complaint is that a couple of areas just sort of petered out. There were characters introduced who just disappeared, and I had a hard time understanding the part they played in the story, or I actually really grew to like them and wanted to know what happened to them, only to find they quietly disappeared into the night. And the ending fell just a bit flat for me. But it's okay. I was ultimately satisfied with the story.
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LibraryThing member Dallas.Barnes
Fantastic lovely couldn't put it down. Not feeling the small romance, but otherwise fantastic!
LibraryThing member A_Reader_of_Fictions
Wow, so this was my first experience with Isabel Allende and it was not what I was expecting at all. I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly, just that it wasn't this. Also, just fyi, let's just put a big ol' trigger warning all over this book for pretty much every trigger ever.
Why Did I Read
I'd run out of audiobooks for review and selecting them on my own takes forever, and this showed up in a newsletter. I've been curious about Allende for a while, thus why I own several of her books (*side-eyes*), and this seemed as good a place to start as any. Plus, I've discovered that I generally love books about dark subject matter and this did sure sound dark.
What's the Story Here?
Nineteen year old Maya Nidal has been sent by her grandma to a small Chilean island to escape some tragic past and possibly pursuers. The story follows two timelines, Maya's past and her present, until the past catches up to where the book started. What unravels is a tale of how Maya made pretty much every wrong decision it was possible to make. Seriously, she does drugs, is an alcoholic, gets raped (this isn't a decision, but getting into a truck with a sketchy trucker after escaping from rehab may not have been the wisest course), joins the underworld and sells drugs so she can earn drugs, pisses off people in the underworld, and then, living on the street, prostitutes herself to obtain money for drugs. The point of the book is that the Chilean island, the name of which I don't know how to spell because audio, opens her up and lets her live again.
What Did I Think Was Missing?
Maya's emotional arc didn't really work for me. We're spared most of her struggle of recovery from addiction. There's some mention of it, but not enough. Recovering from addictions to crack and alcohol is a painful process and she doesn't seem to suffer all that much. In Chile, people regularly drink in front of her and it seems hardly to tempt her, though she does know better than to drink anything herself. From what I've heard, most alcoholics can't handle that. Seeing that she will be dealing with those unhealthy urges forever would have been a more powerful statement, I think. She just seemed to get over it all way too easily.
How are the Characters?
Mostly, they're all terrible people. The rest, like Maya, her grandmother, and Manuel, who Maya stays with in Chile, are on the border between likable and unlikable. I will say that Allende does give them all distinct personalities and they do feel like real people, so points for characterization. However, they're just not people I particularly want to get to know. This was sort of like listening to a radio drama of some super dark soap opera or something. On the one hand, you can't stop listening because you want to know what happens next, but it was also melodramatic like whoa.
And the Romance?
Lol, okay, so this part I did like. Maya's this girl who's been through pretty much everything life has to offer. She's seen and done a lot. Anyway, this guy, Daniel, comes to the island and she sees him and hearts pop out of her eyes like in an anime. The moment she sees him she's like "this is the man I'm going to marry," because her feelings on seeing him reminded of the story of how her grandma met her beloved grandpa. She instaloves all over Daniel, which would be irritating, except that it totally pans out like most actual teen instalove would: a big, huge, awkward dumping. After it happens, Maya's all "this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me," and I was all "trololol." This was basically the comic relief of the piece.
How was the Narration?
Maria Cabezas definitely makes a convincing Maya. She reads with just the slightest accent, like her time in Chile has rubbed off on her. Her voice conveys both Maya's gruffness and youth, and she was just really well-suited to the character. I'm glad I tried this on audio, because I would have DNFed the print really quickly.
Why Did I Read
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This Book?I'd run out of audiobooks for review and selecting them on my own takes forever, and this showed up in a newsletter. I've been curious about Allende for a while, thus why I own several of her books (*side-eyes*), and this seemed as good a place to start as any. Plus, I've discovered that I generally love books about dark subject matter and this did sure sound dark.
What's the Story Here?
Nineteen year old Maya Nidal has been sent by her grandma to a small Chilean island to escape some tragic past and possibly pursuers. The story follows two timelines, Maya's past and her present, until the past catches up to where the book started. What unravels is a tale of how Maya made pretty much every wrong decision it was possible to make. Seriously, she does drugs, is an alcoholic, gets raped (this isn't a decision, but getting into a truck with a sketchy trucker after escaping from rehab may not have been the wisest course), joins the underworld and sells drugs so she can earn drugs, pisses off people in the underworld, and then, living on the street, prostitutes herself to obtain money for drugs. The point of the book is that the Chilean island, the name of which I don't know how to spell because audio, opens her up and lets her live again.
What Did I Think Was Missing?
Maya's emotional arc didn't really work for me. We're spared most of her struggle of recovery from addiction. There's some mention of it, but not enough. Recovering from addictions to crack and alcohol is a painful process and she doesn't seem to suffer all that much. In Chile, people regularly drink in front of her and it seems hardly to tempt her, though she does know better than to drink anything herself. From what I've heard, most alcoholics can't handle that. Seeing that she will be dealing with those unhealthy urges forever would have been a more powerful statement, I think. She just seemed to get over it all way too easily.
How are the Characters?
Mostly, they're all terrible people. The rest, like Maya, her grandmother, and Manuel, who Maya stays with in Chile, are on the border between likable and unlikable. I will say that Allende does give them all distinct personalities and they do feel like real people, so points for characterization. However, they're just not people I particularly want to get to know. This was sort of like listening to a radio drama of some super dark soap opera or something. On the one hand, you can't stop listening because you want to know what happens next, but it was also melodramatic like whoa.
And the Romance?
Lol, okay, so this part I did like. Maya's this girl who's been through pretty much everything life has to offer. She's seen and done a lot. Anyway, this guy, Daniel, comes to the island and she sees him and hearts pop out of her eyes like in an anime. The moment she sees him she's like "this is the man I'm going to marry," because her feelings on seeing him reminded of the story of how her grandma met her beloved grandpa. She instaloves all over Daniel, which would be irritating, except that it totally pans out like most actual teen instalove would: a big, huge, awkward dumping. After it happens, Maya's all "this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me," and I was all "trololol." This was basically the comic relief of the piece.
How was the Narration?
Maria Cabezas definitely makes a convincing Maya. She reads with just the slightest accent, like her time in Chile has rubbed off on her. Her voice conveys both Maya's gruffness and youth, and she was just really well-suited to the character. I'm glad I tried this on audio, because I would have DNFed the print really quickly.
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LibraryThing member epkwrsmith
Short and Sweet Summary
19 year old Maya has seen and lived through it all. A recovering addict, and on the run from criminals, she's sent to her grandmother's home country to hide. There she lives with an old friend of her grandmother's, Manuel, and learns who she is and what she is truly capable
What I Liked
Allende's descriptions of Las Vegas, the Nevada heat and desert were so real, I even had to turn down the air conditioner. I've been to Las Vegas in the dead heat of summer. The seediness, the dirt, the hot air, the addicts and prostitutes on the street night and day and crooked cops that Maya falls into there is exactly as I imagined it would be. I'm sure there are some lovely places somewhere in Las Vegas, but it's not a place I would want to visit again.
Fahkeen, Dumb-Cat and Literati-Cat - along with several other animals play important roles in Maya's recovery...no surprise to me (the animal lover) :)
Manuel - when Manuel was first introduced, I was so afraid he would be another of Maya's "mistakes," but how do you describe a character whose life meant so much to Maya's and hers to him. He took her in at the request of her grandmother, gave her a home, freedom, advice, honesty, clothes to wear, a job, things and people to care about...he gave her back her life and helped her in his own quiet way to realize that she and only she was in charge of her future. What an incredible character.
Maya's honesty about her past as well as her recovery...the raw details, not dramatized versions, the beginnings of her addictions and criminal actions in a Berkley high school, as well as her Las Vegas boss Leeman, the other young kid that lives with her and Leeman, Freddy, and strung out prostitutes.
Alternative timeframe - Maya tells her story while in hiding and melds her past with her present. Maya's past is chaotic to say the least and it was comforting to me as a reader (and mother) to know while reading the past that she would absolutely, somehow make it out of the pits she fell into. There is one incident in particular where Maya gets into a truck after escaping from an institution she is sent to rather than go to jail. I cringed when she stepped into the truck, bit my fingernails through the ride, the stops, the overnight, her realization that she'd made another mistake and that somewhere out there her grandmother was probably having a nightmare that this very episode was happening to Maya.
Maya's strength and perseverance - please don't tell me you are strong...unless you've walked a mile in this young woman's shoes. I particularly LOVE the way Maya never wallows in her misery and never expects pity from anyone. She is one tough cookie.
Getting to know the Chiloe'tan culture, history, customs, people, blessings as well as benefits...Allende takes an honest look at this part of the country.
Popo and Nini - how could you not like these characters. These two, along with Manuel, O'Kelly and Blanca are the very reasons Maya is able to survive and grow. What's even better about this story is that in her own way, Maya is able to rescue each of them right back.
Olympia Pettiford and the Widows for Jesus - I LOVE Allende's depiction of this group of women who are obviously very religious. Allende could have very easily shown them as ridiculous, stupid, and followed every stereotype in existence. But, she didn't.
Strong female themes...addiction, victimization, rape, pregnancy, societal expectations.
The family secret that was so neatly tied up in Maya's story that I never even suspected it.
What I Didn't Like
Daniel Goodrich - I guess it would be implausible for a nineteen year old to NOT fall head over heels for someone while she's in Chiloe', but I didn't like him just the same. Pretty typical male reaction if you ask me.
Maya's mother - really? You need a license to fish and all that...
Maya's father - see above. I separated him from Maya's mother because he does attempt to redeem himself eventually...but he's still under the "didn't like" section :p
Overall Recommendation
A recovery story on many levels with deep cultural and feminist themes, I honestly can't think of who should NOT read Maya's Notebook. There's something here for all...young and old, man and woman.
19 year old Maya has seen and lived through it all. A recovering addict, and on the run from criminals, she's sent to her grandmother's home country to hide. There she lives with an old friend of her grandmother's, Manuel, and learns who she is and what she is truly capable
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of as she thinks about the life she's lived so far. What I Liked
Allende's descriptions of Las Vegas, the Nevada heat and desert were so real, I even had to turn down the air conditioner. I've been to Las Vegas in the dead heat of summer. The seediness, the dirt, the hot air, the addicts and prostitutes on the street night and day and crooked cops that Maya falls into there is exactly as I imagined it would be. I'm sure there are some lovely places somewhere in Las Vegas, but it's not a place I would want to visit again.
Fahkeen, Dumb-Cat and Literati-Cat - along with several other animals play important roles in Maya's recovery...no surprise to me (the animal lover) :)
Manuel - when Manuel was first introduced, I was so afraid he would be another of Maya's "mistakes," but how do you describe a character whose life meant so much to Maya's and hers to him. He took her in at the request of her grandmother, gave her a home, freedom, advice, honesty, clothes to wear, a job, things and people to care about...he gave her back her life and helped her in his own quiet way to realize that she and only she was in charge of her future. What an incredible character.
Maya's honesty about her past as well as her recovery...the raw details, not dramatized versions, the beginnings of her addictions and criminal actions in a Berkley high school, as well as her Las Vegas boss Leeman, the other young kid that lives with her and Leeman, Freddy, and strung out prostitutes.
Alternative timeframe - Maya tells her story while in hiding and melds her past with her present. Maya's past is chaotic to say the least and it was comforting to me as a reader (and mother) to know while reading the past that she would absolutely, somehow make it out of the pits she fell into. There is one incident in particular where Maya gets into a truck after escaping from an institution she is sent to rather than go to jail. I cringed when she stepped into the truck, bit my fingernails through the ride, the stops, the overnight, her realization that she'd made another mistake and that somewhere out there her grandmother was probably having a nightmare that this very episode was happening to Maya.
Maya's strength and perseverance - please don't tell me you are strong...unless you've walked a mile in this young woman's shoes. I particularly LOVE the way Maya never wallows in her misery and never expects pity from anyone. She is one tough cookie.
Getting to know the Chiloe'tan culture, history, customs, people, blessings as well as benefits...Allende takes an honest look at this part of the country.
Popo and Nini - how could you not like these characters. These two, along with Manuel, O'Kelly and Blanca are the very reasons Maya is able to survive and grow. What's even better about this story is that in her own way, Maya is able to rescue each of them right back.
Olympia Pettiford and the Widows for Jesus - I LOVE Allende's depiction of this group of women who are obviously very religious. Allende could have very easily shown them as ridiculous, stupid, and followed every stereotype in existence. But, she didn't.
Strong female themes...addiction, victimization, rape, pregnancy, societal expectations.
The family secret that was so neatly tied up in Maya's story that I never even suspected it.
What I Didn't Like
Daniel Goodrich - I guess it would be implausible for a nineteen year old to NOT fall head over heels for someone while she's in Chiloe', but I didn't like him just the same. Pretty typical male reaction if you ask me.
Maya's mother - really? You need a license to fish and all that...
Maya's father - see above. I separated him from Maya's mother because he does attempt to redeem himself eventually...but he's still under the "didn't like" section :p
Overall Recommendation
A recovery story on many levels with deep cultural and feminist themes, I honestly can't think of who should NOT read Maya's Notebook. There's something here for all...young and old, man and woman.
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LibraryThing member Twink
I love Isabel Allende's writing. Island Beneath the Sea is one of the few books I've read twice. Allende excels at historical fiction, but in her latest book Maya's Notebook, she moves into present day with a young protagonist.
Abandoned by her mother and with a father always away at work, Maya has
It is while exiled on the island that Maya begins to put her story to paper. We are privy to Maya's feelings, emotions and memories from the past and her hopes, dreams and struggle with the present to understand and reclaim her life.
Ahh, what can I say. Allende has yet again created characters that are so well drawn I feel I would know them if I met them walking down the street. The love, the loss and the emotions of her characters was tangible - I felt like a relative or friend was pouring their heart out and sharing their pain. Her prose are always evocative.
"Happiness is slippery, it slithers away between your fingers, but problems are something you can hold on to, they've got handles, they're rough and hard.
The narrative flips between past and present, with a little more revealed each chapter. I love this method of storytelling - it's addictive. (and always keeps me up late, reading just one more chapter)
The setting is spectacular - the island and its inhabitants play a major role in the book and Maya's life. Allende is familiar with the island and that personal knowledge makes a difference. I learned much about Chilean culture and history as well.
It was after finishing the book that I learned Allende had poured much of her own life into Maya's notebook. Her own family has suffered the loss of more than one child to drugs. Some scenes, dialogue, characters and situations have been pulled from her own experiences. I enjoyed Maya's Notebook, but given a choice, I prefer her historical works.
Abandoned by her mother and with a father always away at work, Maya has
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been raised by her beloved grandparents Popo and Nini in Berkeley, California. The house is filled with noise, life, colour, friends and most of all - love. But when her grandfather Popo dies, Maya loses it. She turns to drugs, alcohol and crime. This downward spiral finally spits her out in Las Vegas where she sinks even lower and is in great danger - there are many want her dead. Nini sees one last chance to save Maya - she spirits her away to Chiloé - a remote island off the coast of Chile - Nini's homeland.It is while exiled on the island that Maya begins to put her story to paper. We are privy to Maya's feelings, emotions and memories from the past and her hopes, dreams and struggle with the present to understand and reclaim her life.
Ahh, what can I say. Allende has yet again created characters that are so well drawn I feel I would know them if I met them walking down the street. The love, the loss and the emotions of her characters was tangible - I felt like a relative or friend was pouring their heart out and sharing their pain. Her prose are always evocative.
"Happiness is slippery, it slithers away between your fingers, but problems are something you can hold on to, they've got handles, they're rough and hard.
The narrative flips between past and present, with a little more revealed each chapter. I love this method of storytelling - it's addictive. (and always keeps me up late, reading just one more chapter)
The setting is spectacular - the island and its inhabitants play a major role in the book and Maya's life. Allende is familiar with the island and that personal knowledge makes a difference. I learned much about Chilean culture and history as well.
It was after finishing the book that I learned Allende had poured much of her own life into Maya's notebook. Her own family has suffered the loss of more than one child to drugs. Some scenes, dialogue, characters and situations have been pulled from her own experiences. I enjoyed Maya's Notebook, but given a choice, I prefer her historical works.
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
Maya Vidal grew up in the most unusual but loving of circumstances. While abandoned by her mother and all but ignored by her father, her grandparents – the feisty and formidable Nini, and her adoring, more deliberate Popo – provide all the love and adventure any young girl could want.
Maya’s story unfolds slowly, almost infuriatingly so. The heart of the narrative is the mysterious reasons behind her flight to Chile, and when the story concentrates on that aspect of her past, the pacing picks up and a reader’s interest increases. Unfortunately, these most interesting elements of the narrative are only told in short bursts, with the rest of the novel focusing on her life in Chile and her growing relationship with Manuel. These details end up being important in a Dickensian fashion but pale in comparison to the tragic and shocking experiences she faces on the way to and in Las Vegas.
Maya’s voice waffles between a snide, street-wise teenager to a more contrite, gentler, and surprisingly younger young adult. Perhaps this is the fault of the audiobook, but the transition is jarring at times, especially when her dialogue involves sarcasm or rough language. Her use of curse words and other crude phrasing, while fitting for a former homeless drug addict, is unsettling given the more mature, calmer mannerisms she exhibits throughout most of the novel. It is an effective reminder of what she has had to overcome, but it does make it difficult to mesh these two very different aspects of her personality.
The biggest surprise is the fact that the story is not just about Maya. While hers is the key plot, the story delves into Manuel’s past as Ms. Allende takes the time to make not-so-surreptitious political statements about Chile’s dictatorial history. The history lesson is fascinating, albeit odd, given that the story is really about Maya and not Manuel, and the addition of Ms. Allende’s political viewpoints is slightly off-putting. She does eventually connect the two plots in what is supposed to be a significant plot twist that ends up being less surprising than she planned, but it still feels too much like a chance to expound upon her views rather than as an essential element of the story.
Maria Cabezas has a pleasant, young voice and is a decent narrator, but she does not fit the novel. Her voice is too soft and innocent and does not exhibit the battle-worn world-weariness that befits Maya’s rough life. She also speaks very quietly and soothingly, all but lulling readers into sleep. Again, given everything Maya has overcome, Ms. Cabezas’ voice is just too lovely. Also, the novel is told as a series of journal entries and scribblings into notebooks. The audiobook format lessens the importance of the epistolary format, which is a huge part of the novel. Between Ms. Cabezas’ less-than-ideal narration and the derailing of the epistolary format, Maya's Notebook would make a better book to read than for listening.
Ms. Allende does write beautifully. Her descriptions of Chile are vibrant, while Maya all but sparkles. She weaves her story carefully, very much like Charles Dickens, in that each element, however irrelevant is appears, becomes important at a later point in the story. This makes the details just as important as the key points and tends to slow down the pace. Since the story is slow to begin with, this can make for tedious reading, but the patient reader is rewarded in the end with a complex tale of family, forgiveness, and self-discovery.
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Devastated after her Popo’s slow death, Maya seeks to soothe her grief through any means necessary – alcohol and drugs being her favorite tools. Just as she starts to get her life back on track, she takes a detour that places her in the seediest sections of Las Vegas, working with the town’s prominent drug dealers. Along the way, she manages to upset her fellow “coworkers”, the FBI, the police, and other government agencies, forcing her to disappear. While hiding in Chile, Maya discovers more about her new country, her family, and herself. Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende is as much about self-discovery and healing as it is about families and love.Maya’s story unfolds slowly, almost infuriatingly so. The heart of the narrative is the mysterious reasons behind her flight to Chile, and when the story concentrates on that aspect of her past, the pacing picks up and a reader’s interest increases. Unfortunately, these most interesting elements of the narrative are only told in short bursts, with the rest of the novel focusing on her life in Chile and her growing relationship with Manuel. These details end up being important in a Dickensian fashion but pale in comparison to the tragic and shocking experiences she faces on the way to and in Las Vegas.
Maya’s voice waffles between a snide, street-wise teenager to a more contrite, gentler, and surprisingly younger young adult. Perhaps this is the fault of the audiobook, but the transition is jarring at times, especially when her dialogue involves sarcasm or rough language. Her use of curse words and other crude phrasing, while fitting for a former homeless drug addict, is unsettling given the more mature, calmer mannerisms she exhibits throughout most of the novel. It is an effective reminder of what she has had to overcome, but it does make it difficult to mesh these two very different aspects of her personality.
The biggest surprise is the fact that the story is not just about Maya. While hers is the key plot, the story delves into Manuel’s past as Ms. Allende takes the time to make not-so-surreptitious political statements about Chile’s dictatorial history. The history lesson is fascinating, albeit odd, given that the story is really about Maya and not Manuel, and the addition of Ms. Allende’s political viewpoints is slightly off-putting. She does eventually connect the two plots in what is supposed to be a significant plot twist that ends up being less surprising than she planned, but it still feels too much like a chance to expound upon her views rather than as an essential element of the story.
Maria Cabezas has a pleasant, young voice and is a decent narrator, but she does not fit the novel. Her voice is too soft and innocent and does not exhibit the battle-worn world-weariness that befits Maya’s rough life. She also speaks very quietly and soothingly, all but lulling readers into sleep. Again, given everything Maya has overcome, Ms. Cabezas’ voice is just too lovely. Also, the novel is told as a series of journal entries and scribblings into notebooks. The audiobook format lessens the importance of the epistolary format, which is a huge part of the novel. Between Ms. Cabezas’ less-than-ideal narration and the derailing of the epistolary format, Maya's Notebook would make a better book to read than for listening.
Ms. Allende does write beautifully. Her descriptions of Chile are vibrant, while Maya all but sparkles. She weaves her story carefully, very much like Charles Dickens, in that each element, however irrelevant is appears, becomes important at a later point in the story. This makes the details just as important as the key points and tends to slow down the pace. Since the story is slow to begin with, this can make for tedious reading, but the patient reader is rewarded in the end with a complex tale of family, forgiveness, and self-discovery.
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LibraryThing member MarkMeg
Starts out slow and I had a hard time getting into it, but it develops well and I enjoyed it. Maya, upon the death of her grandfather, becomes an alcoholic, drug addict and eventually hunted by her drug mentor's unloyal troops. Her grandmother sends her to Chile, small town, where she finds herself
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and discovers the beauty of her life and loves. Creates picture of drug addiction and Chile's politics as well as much more. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookmagic
I am a big fan of Allende's earlier works but stopped reading her after she started setting her books in the US. I was drawn to this novel as part of it is set on a remote island off of Chile.
Maya Vidal is 19 years old and has been sent by her grandmother, Nini, to live with an old friend of hers
Allende nicely weaves Maya's recollections with her current life in Chiloe, which she learns to love. Allende captures the island life as expertly as she does Maya's decline. I love the descriptions of the people and life of Chiloe, also interspersed with the history of Chile and the horrors that occurred during the period that it was under dictatorship.
The thing that keeps this from being a great book for me was that it seemed that Allende had run out of story before she had told all that she wanted of island life and Chilean history. So she seems to add an unnecessary turn to Maya's journey. I am always disappointed when it seems that some editing out of filler could have made a book so much better. This was a very powerful read, graphic as Allende has implied she wrote this book as a cautionary tale. It was lacking the magical realism I so enjoyed in her other works like Eva Luna and The House of Spirits but I don't know if any of her more recent works have that either. Well-written and mostly enjoyable but not a five star read.
Maya Vidal is 19 years old and has been sent by her grandmother, Nini, to live with an old friend of hers
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on Chiloe, an island off of Chile. Maya looks back at her past to make sense of what has happened to her life. Born to a Danish woman who abandons her and Nini's Chilean born son who works as a pilot, Maya is dumped off to live with her Popo and Nini in Berkeley. Nini was left Chile after President Allende was killed during a military coup as was her husband, and emigrated to Canada. There she met Popo and moved to Berkeley. Nini is a strong-willed activist and Popo a professor. Maya adores them both and when Popo dies when she is sixteen, she sinks into a depression and becomes incredibly self-destructive. Maya skips school, takes drugs, hangs out with two equally destructive girls. They exchange sex for drugs, blackmail men that try to pick up young girls on the internet. Maya gets away with it for awhile as Nini is devastated over the loss of her husband and oblivous to what is happening around her. But Nini tries to intervene once she realizes what's going on, but Maya continues until she gets in an accident. Her mostly absent father then ships her off to a school in Oregon, where Maya lives for a couple of years. When she turns 18, Maya runs away as she is afraid her father will have her committed. She ends up in Las Vegas where she really hits rock bottom and becomes entangled in some incredibly dangerous activities as well as developing a serious drug-addiction.Allende nicely weaves Maya's recollections with her current life in Chiloe, which she learns to love. Allende captures the island life as expertly as she does Maya's decline. I love the descriptions of the people and life of Chiloe, also interspersed with the history of Chile and the horrors that occurred during the period that it was under dictatorship.
The thing that keeps this from being a great book for me was that it seemed that Allende had run out of story before she had told all that she wanted of island life and Chilean history. So she seems to add an unnecessary turn to Maya's journey. I am always disappointed when it seems that some editing out of filler could have made a book so much better. This was a very powerful read, graphic as Allende has implied she wrote this book as a cautionary tale. It was lacking the magical realism I so enjoyed in her other works like Eva Luna and The House of Spirits but I don't know if any of her more recent works have that either. Well-written and mostly enjoyable but not a five star read.
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LibraryThing member ozzer
Maya Vidal is an appealing narrator. She is tough, smart, articulate and resourceful, although her voice is often inconsistent. At times she seems inappropriately wise while at others she is more immature than one would expect a 20 year old to be. Maya tells her personal history in this tale of
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loss and redemption. Her story focuses not only on the monumental mistakes she makes during her adolescence, but also on her family history and eventual redemption on a remote Chilean island. The story oscillates from abandonment by her parents as a child to rescue by her grandparents and happiness in later childhood, acting out in adolescence leading to another period of abandonment and utter depravity in Las Vegas, followed by a second rescue and ultimate redemption in Chile orchestrated once again be her grandmother. The plot also oscillates between languid development in Chiloe and page-turning rapidity during the Las Vegas period. Allende has obvious biases when it comes to Chilean history and politics but this part of the novel was interesting and seemed necessary to completely explain her grandmother’s history. Show Less
LibraryThing member obedah
I love the way Allende uses language--her descriptions are so crisp. I didn't want this book to end it was so enjoyable.
LibraryThing member GR8inD8N
Gritty realistic, almost crime-style drama (but it was more character driven than plot driven- there are important and very INTERESTING plot points, it just isn't fast paced). There are some really hard violent scenes and sexual violence in this book. There are also beautiful parts like the
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descriptions of Southern Chile. Hopefully this book would be a warning to those teenagers playing with fire, but then again, they may not be spending time reading books by Isabel Allende. Show Less
LibraryThing member LibraryCin
3.5 stars
Maya was raised by her grandparents, and was extremely close to her grandfather, Popo. When he dies, she is devastated and makes a lot of bad choices. Eventually, her grandmother sends her to a small island (Chiloe) off the coast of Chile to keep her safe.
The story goes back and forth in
Maya was raised by her grandparents, and was extremely close to her grandfather, Popo. When he dies, she is devastated and makes a lot of bad choices. Eventually, her grandmother sends her to a small island (Chiloe) off the coast of Chile to keep her safe.
The story goes back and forth in
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time so the reader finds out slowly what happened to bring Maya to Chiloe. I listened to the audio, and mostly it kept my attention, but it sometimes does make it a bit trickier to keep track of which time period we are now following, especially near the start of the book. Overall, though, I thought it was a good book, and the audio did hold my attention more than some do. Show Less
LibraryThing member LivelyLady
Two themes going with 19 year old Maya relating her life in one theme and then relating her current situation living in Chile. Well written, but at times convoluted. I liked the resolution of the characters and the appearance of her dead "grandfather", PoPo, in her life. It did hold my attention.
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Not sure it would make a good movie. Show Less
LibraryThing member MaggieFlo
This is the story of Maya Vidal who grows up in Berkeley, California but eventually ends up in Chilote, Chile. Abandoned by her parents as a baby, she is raised by her Chilean born grandmother and her husband (Popo) an astronomer at the university. Her childhood is idyllic until her beloved Popo
The book is told in the present and the past. The present is her life spent in Chilote in Chile with her mother's friend Manuel. She has been sent here to escape the dangers and demons of her life in LV. Reluctant at first to enjoy the island, over time she grows to love the inhabitants and their customs. It gives her the opportunity to face her demons and to appreciate her circumstances.
This is a well told story with really interesting characters, in particular her grandmother Nini and her Popo. The ending is a little hard to believe but it is a story of the love of family and their ability to love you no matter what.
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dies of cancer. She feels abandoned by his death and she enters a rebellious period by skipping school, doing drugs and hanging out with unsavoury friends. Her behaviour alarms her grandmother and she is sent to a private facility inOregon. She manages to escape and ends up in Las Vegas where her life hits rock bottom. The book is told in the present and the past. The present is her life spent in Chilote in Chile with her mother's friend Manuel. She has been sent here to escape the dangers and demons of her life in LV. Reluctant at first to enjoy the island, over time she grows to love the inhabitants and their customs. It gives her the opportunity to face her demons and to appreciate her circumstances.
This is a well told story with really interesting characters, in particular her grandmother Nini and her Popo. The ending is a little hard to believe but it is a story of the love of family and their ability to love you no matter what.
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LibraryThing member kakadoo202
of course it is a typical Allende when California and Chile is brought together. oneod the few books that are set in thr modern times. give you an interesting inside of the village life in Chile. not sure how much of the traditions are true but is sounds convincing to me.
maya goes through a
maya goes through a
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selfmade hell because of drugs and alcohol. in Chile she recovers in no time. almost too easy. is there something in thr Chilenian air? maybe we should build lots of drug recover centers there. everybody is unatural friendly. even the childmolester and inzest-happy fathers. strange twist that manual ends up as her bio grand- pa. not necessary for the story. otherwise a good solid read. Show Less
LibraryThing member St.CroixSue
This book was a bit of a departure from Allende’s earlier historical fiction. It takes place in the present and follows the life of a girl who falls deeply into the abyss of addiction and her journey to safety and healing on a small island off the coast of Chili. There are a few twists and turns
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making it an interesting combination of coming of age and drug underworld drama. Show Less
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
Isabel Allende is a favourite author so I was happy to see this book available through my library’s electronic catalogue as an audiobook download. I didn’t really know what the book was about and I was a little surprised by it. Most of her books that I have read have been historical whereas
I am a long way from being a teenage girl and when I was a teenage girl it was a different time. Sure, there was some drug use and some illicit alcohol consumption but no-one I knew was involved with injectable drugs. I guess times have changed because Maya is hiding out in a remote Chilean village after getting involved with all kinds of illegal activity in Las Vegas. Her story comes out in between descriptions of where she is presently and reminiscences of her grandmother and grandfather who raised her.
My biggest problem with this book is that I found Maya’s conversion to a sober lifestyle a little too sudden and too easy. Otherwise it was an interesting book.
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this was modern. I am a long way from being a teenage girl and when I was a teenage girl it was a different time. Sure, there was some drug use and some illicit alcohol consumption but no-one I knew was involved with injectable drugs. I guess times have changed because Maya is hiding out in a remote Chilean village after getting involved with all kinds of illegal activity in Las Vegas. Her story comes out in between descriptions of where she is presently and reminiscences of her grandmother and grandfather who raised her.
My biggest problem with this book is that I found Maya’s conversion to a sober lifestyle a little too sudden and too easy. Otherwise it was an interesting book.
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LibraryThing member booklovers2
Engaging story of a young woman, Maya- raised by her grandparents is overcome with grief when her grandfather dies and her life spirals into a world of destruction with alcohol, drugs and sex. After being put into a school for troubled teens, she takes off and lives on the streets, taken in by a
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dealer and becomes his confidante until he is killed by his associates she is on the run again. The assassins and the feds are looking for her, as she is the only one who knows the hiding spot of a valuable link to a counterfeit scheme. She hits rock bottom and reaches out to her grandmother Nini - who rescues her and sends her to a friend who lives in a remote area of her homeland(Chile). The story is told in Maya's voice, as she keeps a notebook of her feelings, travel, troubles, thoughts and inspirations on her continued road to recovery. Enjoyed it, my first Isabel Allende but not the last! Show Less
LibraryThing member rosetyper9
I couldn't finish this one. I was very sad about it too because I love Isabel Allende...her novels were some of the first "grown up" books I started to read (I know, a bit much for a teenager). I just couldn't get into this book. Maya didn't draw me in, I just didn't care.
LibraryThing member sleahey
This novel moves back and forth in time, told from the present point of Maya, who finds herself at the end of the world on a tiny island on the coast of Chile. as a 19 year old she has retreated there to avoid being tracked down by both the mafia and the FBI. Writing in her notebook, she describes
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her journey to get there, and then the evolution once there. She had fallen apart after the death of her beloved grandfather, got involved with the wrong crowd, became addicted to many substances, went through rehab, fell off the wagon, resorted to drug dealing and prostitution, and got in way over her head. After hitting bottom and being rescued, she was sent by her grandmother to live with an old family friend in Chile, where the grandmother had been embroiled in the revolution there. The relationships that Maya develops along the way, both positive and negative, are instrumental to her growth and fascinating to the reader. The setting in remote Chile, with some background history of that country in the 1970's, make for an intriguingbackdrop in which Maya ultimately finds herself. Show Less
LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Audiobook performed by Maria Cabezas
On a remote island off the southern coast of Chile 19-year-old Maya Vidal uses the notebook given to her by her grandmother – Nini – to record her impressions of this simple life, reflect on her past mistakes and try to come to grips with the turns her life
This is a contemporary coming-of-age novel and a significant departure for Allende who has mostly written historical fiction. Maya is frustratingly immature and so many of her decisions are so obviously wrong that the reader cannot help but anticipate the horrible outcome. Yet, we always know that she is “clean, sober and safe” because she is narrating her troubled past from a place of safety and security. This structure made me curious as to how she would get out of the various situations (and there are many including kidnapping, rape, drug overdose, etc) but also lessened the suspense. Some of the writing seemed a little mature for Maya, but on the whole I felt Allende gave her a believable voice.
The novel is peopled with a wide array of characters – colorful, bland, loyal, conniving, young, old, wise, or foolish. There are times when Maya is exploring historical elements that disrupt the flow of the main plot – her grandmother’s flight from Chile as a young widow with her young son, how her grandparents met, Manuel’s incarceration and torture, and background stories of other characters important to her story. The novel includes a few elements of magical realism – ghosts appear regularly, Maya is introduced to a coven of witches – but these are relatively minor.
Maria Cabezas does a fine job narrating this first-person tale. She has good pacing and correctly pronounces the Spanish. Her “young” voice for Maya seemed spot on. Allende is a good story-teller and Cabezas performed the work well. I was interested and engaged from beginning to end.
On a remote island off the southern coast of Chile 19-year-old Maya Vidal uses the notebook given to her by her grandmother – Nini – to record her impressions of this simple life, reflect on her past mistakes and try to come to grips with the turns her life
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has taken. Through her writings we learn that as an infant she was left with her paternal grandmother and step-grandfather in Berkeley, and raised by them with considerable freedom and lots of love. The death of Popo deeply affects both Nini and Maya, and the 13-year-old spins out of control, drinking, taking drugs, and engaging in petty crimes. Eventually she gets embroiled in the seedy underworld of Las Vegas. This is a contemporary coming-of-age novel and a significant departure for Allende who has mostly written historical fiction. Maya is frustratingly immature and so many of her decisions are so obviously wrong that the reader cannot help but anticipate the horrible outcome. Yet, we always know that she is “clean, sober and safe” because she is narrating her troubled past from a place of safety and security. This structure made me curious as to how she would get out of the various situations (and there are many including kidnapping, rape, drug overdose, etc) but also lessened the suspense. Some of the writing seemed a little mature for Maya, but on the whole I felt Allende gave her a believable voice.
The novel is peopled with a wide array of characters – colorful, bland, loyal, conniving, young, old, wise, or foolish. There are times when Maya is exploring historical elements that disrupt the flow of the main plot – her grandmother’s flight from Chile as a young widow with her young son, how her grandparents met, Manuel’s incarceration and torture, and background stories of other characters important to her story. The novel includes a few elements of magical realism – ghosts appear regularly, Maya is introduced to a coven of witches – but these are relatively minor.
Maria Cabezas does a fine job narrating this first-person tale. She has good pacing and correctly pronounces the Spanish. Her “young” voice for Maya seemed spot on. Allende is a good story-teller and Cabezas performed the work well. I was interested and engaged from beginning to end.
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LibraryThing member Alphawoman
Having finished The Sum of our Days recently before picking up this book I recognized the abundance of references from her real life experiences. Though I liked reading this book (I am experiencing a tragic slow down in my reading habits only finishing 18 books so far this year with nearly 100
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books last year. Burn out?) I did not like or care much for the Maya character. Show Less
LibraryThing member pattysp
Really enjoyed!
Awards
Maine Readers' Choice Award (Longlist — 2014)
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (Fiction — 2013)
Language
Original publication date
2011
ISBN
9781443413299
Local notes
Fiction